Gas prices have continued to fall following record highs in the early summer months, going down about 15 cents compared to last week to a national average of $4.52 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
A AAA news release said this drop in price is because of lower domestic demand for gas at the pump and a “much lower” price of oil globally, with the cost of a barrel of oil being in the mid $90s and down from around $110 two weeks ago.
“Global economic headwinds are pushing oil prices lower and less expensive oil leads to lower pump prices,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “And here at home people are fueling up less despite this being the height of the traditional summer driving season. These two key factors are behind the recent drop in pump prices.”
The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand fell from 9.41 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.06 b/d while the total domestic gasoline stock rose by 5.8 million barrels. It also said, due to both of these factors, prices have continued to fall and that if they continue in that trend, the price could also continue to fall.
“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.81 to settle at $97.57,” the AAA news release said. “Crude prices increased slightly at the end of the week due to the market expecting crude supply to remain tight throughout summer. Tightening of supply is being driven by the potential for slower economic growth due to rising interest rates and inflation. Declining crude demand, due to reduced economic activity, could lead prices to follow suit. For this week, crude prices could rise if the market continues to believe supply will remain tight. Additionally, EIA reported that total domestic crude stocks increased by 3.3 million bbl to 427.1 million bbl last week, which is nearly 11 million bbl lower than the storage level last year.”
AAA said Ohio had the 33rd highest gas price of all of the states in the county plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $4.339 as of Tuesday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $4.545, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $4.987.
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Tuesday, were:
*Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.99 at Murphy USA.
*Greenfield — The lowest price was $4.21 at multiple places.
*Hillsboro — The lowest price was $4.11 at Murphy USA.
*Mount Orab — The lowest price was $4.29 at 1st Stop.
*Wilmington — The lowest price was $4.42 at multiple places.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
